Socks with holes and hanger

ABSTRACT

A pair of socks including a first sock having at least one reinforced opening and a second sock having at least one reinforced opening. The pair of socks also includes at least one attachment device. The at least one attachment device is removably securable through the at least one reinforced opening of the first sock and the at least one reinforced opening of the second sock so as to secure the first sock to the second sock.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This applications claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent App.63/312,236, filed Feb. 21, 2022, titled “SOCKS WITH HOLES AND HANGER,”the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD

The disclosed technology pertains to a system for allowing a pair ofsock to be attached to one another so as to be easily kept together so asingle sock does not get lost.

BACKGROUND

Socks are normally purchased, stored, worn, and laundered in pairs.However, keeping socks in pairs is harder than it sounds. Therefore, theneed exists for a means of keeping pairs of socks together in thelaundry or in storage.

The drawings and detailed description that follow are intended to bemerely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention as contemplated by the inventors.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure provides a pair of socks that can be securedtogether by an attachment device. The pair of socks including a firstsock having at least one reinforced opening and a second sock having atleast one reinforced opening. The at least one attachment device isremovably securable through the at least one reinforced opening of thefirst sock and the at least one reinforced opening of the second sock soas to secure the first sock to the second sock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings and detailed description that follow are intended to bemerely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention as contemplated by the inventors.

FIG. 1 shows a pair of socks and a pair of stockings according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows the pair of socks from FIG. 1 attached to one another viaan attachment device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 shows the connected pair of socks from FIG. 2 being placed into awasher as a connected pair of socks;

FIG. 4 shows various individual socks utilizing different attachmentmeans and having different reinforced openings thereon; and

FIG. 5 shows two individual socks, each sock utilizing a differentshaped reinforced opening.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a system of making sure a pair ofsocks is not lost during cleaning or storage of the socks. FIG. 1 showsa pair of socks 10 a and 10 b along with a pair of stockings 12 a and 12b. Each sock in the pair of socks includes at least one reinforcedopening 14 in the upper fabric portion 16 of each sock. The at least onereinforced opening 14 allows both socks of the pair to be attached toeach other via an attachment device, such as the attachment device 18shown in FIG. 2 . In one or more embodiments, the attachment device 18can be selected from the group consisting of a heat-resistant clip, ahanger, a rod, a cord, and a tie. The attachment device 18 allows a userto easily keep a pair of socks, such as socks 10 a and 10 b, or a pairof stockings, such as stockings 12 a and 12 b, together without losingeither sock or stocking of the pair. When in use, the reinforced opening14 provides no irritation to the wearer such that when being worn on thefoot, there is little difference compared to standard socks.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment wherein the attachment device 18 is in theform of a two-piece attachment device, 18 a and 18 b, with sock 10 aincluding a female attachment device 18 a and sock 10 b including a maleattachment device 18 b. The two-piece attachment device 18 a, 18 b snapon or over the reinforced opening/hole(s) 14 of the first sock 10 a andsecond sock 10 b, and they come back around through the other side ofthe reinforced opening/hole 14, with 18 a then being able to snaptogether with 18 b. The two-piece attachment device 18 a, 18 b can eachbe designed in a way that they can be a collectible item, a companylogo/brand, design, or even wearable technology could be added to itlike a light, child GPS tracking, QR code, RFID tag, or smart device formeasuring physical movement.

When off the feet, the socks 10 a, 10 b or stockings 12 a, 12 b can besecured together with the attachment device 18. This would give thewearer the opportunity to store together the socks 10 a, 10 b orstockings 12 a, 12 b by clipping, connecting, or fastening together theattachment device 18. The present disclosure also gives the wearer anopportunity to launder the socks 10 a, 10 b or stockings 12 a, 12 btogether by clipping, connecting, or fastening together the attachmentdevice 18, for use in a washing machine, such as the washing machine 100shown in FIG. 3 , and dryer. The present disclosure eliminates the needfor folding over the socks 10 a, 10 b, or stockings 12 a, 12 b, whichcan destroy the elasticity of the socks 10 a, 10 b, or stockings 12 a,12 b over time.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein eachreinforced opening 14 also includes a secondary sock clip 20. Thesecondary sock clip 20 fits within the opening of each reinforcedopening 14. The secondary sock clip includes a flap of material with amale connection end at one end and a female connection end at the otherend of the flap of material. The flap of material is folded over onitself, and the male connection end and the female connection endconnect to each other to create an aperture. The attachment device 18 isthen strung through the apertures of the secondary sock clips 20. Thisprovides for less wear and tear on the reinforced openings 14 of eachsock 10 a and 10 b. The secondary sock clips 20 can each be designed ina way that they can be a collectible item, a company logo/brand, design,or even wearable technology could be added to it like a light, child GPStracking, QR code, RFID tag, or smart device for measuring physicalmovement.

The socks 10 a, 10 b, or stockings 12 a, 12 b can be constructed invirtually any type of desired material and available in numerous sizes,colors, and designs. The at least one reinforced opening in the 14 canbe different shapes and sizes. In one or more embodiments, the shapes ofthe at least one reinforced opening in the 14 can be selected from thegroups consisting of circles, squares, rectangles, and designs such asin the shape of a basketball, football, animal, flower, and manufacturerlogo. FIG. 5 shows a variety of shapes of at least one reinforcedopening in the 14. In one or more embodiments, the at least onereinforced opening in the 14 can be reinforced by reinforcement means 20around the outside of the at least one reinforced opening 14 that wouldassist in preventing ripping of the at least one reinforced opening 14.In one or more embodiments, the reinforcement means are selected fromadditional stitching and sowing, such as shown in FIG. 4 , a clothreinforcement, a metal reinforcement such as a metal grommet, or aplastic reinforcement such as a plastic grommet, which would also supplya source of additional support and reinforcement. It is also envisionedthat the socks 10 a, 10 b, or stockings 12 a, 12 b could incorporatebuttons, patches, smart technology, lights, logos, or collectible tags.

While most embodiments of the present disclosure have been described interms of a pair of socks, it is also the intention that the term socksalso includes stockings, such as the stockings 12, 12 b shown in FIG. 1.

What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subjectmatter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimedsubject matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in eitherthe detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising”is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

It should be understood that any one or more of the teachings,expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. described herein may becombined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions,embodiments, examples, etc. that are described herein. Thefollowing-described teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc.should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other.Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein may be combined willbe readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of theteachings herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to beincluded within the scope of the claims.

Having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention,further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may beaccomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill inthe art without departing from the scope of the present invention.Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and otherswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, theexamples, embodiments, geometrics, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps,and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required.Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered interms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to thedetails of structure and operation shown and described in thespecification and drawings.

1. A pair of socks comprising: a. a first sock having at least onereinforced opening; b. a second sock having at least one reinforcedopening; and c. at least one attachment device wherein the at least oneattachment device is removably securable through the at least onereinforced opening of the first sock and the at least one reinforcedopening of the second sock so as to secure the first sock to the secondsock.
 2. The pair of socks of claim 1, wherein the at least oneattachment device is a one-piece attachment device.
 3. The pair of socksof claim 2, wherein the one-piece attachment device is selected from thegroup consisting of a heat-resistant clip, a hanger, a rod, a cord, anda tie.
 4. The pair of socks of claim 1, wherein the at least oneattachment device is a two-piece attachment device.
 5. The pair of socksof claim 4, wherein the two-piece attachment device includes a maleattachment device securable to either said first sock or said secondsock within the at least one reinforced opening and a female attachmentdevice securable to the other of said first sock or second sock withinthe at least one reinforced opening.
 6. The pair of socks of claim 1,further comprising a reinforcement means around an outside of the atleast one reinforced opening of the first sock and around an outside ofthe at least one reinforced opening of the second sock.
 7. The pair ofsocks of claim 6, wherein the reinforcement means are selected fromadditional stitching, a cloth reinforcement, a metal reinforcement, aplastic reinforcement, or combinations thereof.
 8. The pair of socks ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one reinforced opening of the first sockhas a shape, and wherein the shape is selected from the group consistingof circles, squares, rectangles, and designs such as the shape of abasketball, football, animal, flower, and manufacturer logo.
 9. The pairof socks of claim 1, wherein the at least one reinforced opening of thesecond sock has a shape, and wherein the shape is selected from thegroup consisting of circles, squares, rectangles, and designs such asthe shape of a basketball, football, animal, flower, and manufacturerlogo.
 10. The pair of socks of claim 1, further comprising a secondarysock clip placeable within the at least one reinforced opening of thefirst sock, wherein the secondary sock clip forms an aperture withinwhich the at least one attachment device can be removably securablewithin.
 11. The pair of socks of claim 1, further comprising a secondarysock clip placeable within the at least one reinforced opening of thesecond sock, wherein the secondary sock clip forms an aperture withinwhich the at least one attachment device can be removably securablewithin.